a. Book Citation:
Dewey, J., & Dewey, J. (2009). The school and society ; & The child and the curriculum. Lexington, Ky.: Readaclassic.com.
b. The School and Society was originally written in 1900 and The Child and the Curriculum in 1902. In both texts Dewey speaks to learning and education as a social process. He stresses that children need to interact with the curriculum. He also explains that a student should be able to link new information with their own experiences in order to make their own meanings. In The Child and the Curriculum, he states that "just as two points define a straight line, so the present standpoint of the child and the facts and truths of studies define instruction." (pg. 8) This sounds like the problem based learning we are expected to use in our classrooms today because PBL incorporates Dewey's emphasis on hands-on learning and student-centered instruction.
c. John Dewey lived from 1859 to 1952. He was a strong supporter of democracy and insisted that a good education was important to the success of democracy. Dewey also believed in a pragmatic philosophy meaning human thought is meant to be used for making predictions, performing actions or solving problems, not for memorizing facts and describing that which is already known by others. These believes led Dewey to start the Chicago Laboratory schools where he could put his beliefs into action. Dewey is probably most well known for his theory on progressive education. Dewey stressed that since children are social beings, education and the gaining of knowledge needs to be a social process. He also believed that schools should be a community and should be representative of the community they serve and that teachers as members of this community are there to assist the students in the process of learning. Dewey explained that he supported the core curriculum but went on to say that life skills also needed to be included. Last but most important was Dewey's claim the teachers need to focus on the child's strengths and interests as they encourage each student to make their own meanings and connections. Dewey firmly believed that a passive student is a wasted education. d. At present time, my goal is to finish The Child and the Curriculum. As we were all warned, beware the skinny book. This book has little fluff and an immense amount of information to absorb. Once I complete this section I will perhaps work to include chapters from The School and Society. I appreciate the connection between what Dewey believed in the early 1900's and what we are trying to bring to our classrooms today. It appears that our newest research is not so new after all and I hope to use Dewey's knowledge base to strengthen my ability to incorporate PBL into my future classroom.
e. The knowledge and connections gained from Dewey's book will help the class see that the "newest" reform ideas are actually tried and true in the sense that these theories have persisted through two centuries of public education and that no matter how much our profession has tried to deny them they are once again back on the front page. Hopefully this insight will overpower the "learned helplessness", the "why bother, it's just another change and we all know these changes never make a difference". Discussing Dewey's theories on progressive education will also act as a refresher for myself and my peers on the basics of problem based learning.
Dewey, J., & Dewey, J. (2009). The school and society ; & The child and the curriculum. Lexington, Ky.: Readaclassic.com.
The Child and the Curriculum is an essay written by John Dewey in 1902 in response to concerns he had with current practices in education. Dewey opens this essay with the claim that there are two main educational sects: one that focuses on the curriculum and one that focus on the child. Those that focus on curriculum, according to Dewey, believe that the subject-matter reveals a wide universe to the narrow life of the child. The subject-matter brings truth and law and order to the egotistic, self -centered, and impulsive child. " It ignores the child's individual peculiarities, whims and experiences." (Dewey, 2009, p. 8) This sect believes that as educators, our role is to replace the casual and superficial ideas of the child with the "well-ordered realities of the curriculum". (Dewey, 2009, p. 8) Under this focus, the child is simply an immature being that needs to be matured and he succeeds at this by being "ductile and docile". (Dewey, 2009, p. 8 ) In contrast, the other sect that Dewey describes sees the child as the starting point, the center and the end goal of education, "his (the child) growth and development is the deal". (Dewey, 2009, p. 9) All subjects are subservient to the growth of the child and their value is measured in how well they serve the needs of growth. Dewey states that "subject matter can never be got into the child from without. Learning is active. It involves reaching out of the mind. It is the child and not the subject matter that defines the quantity and quality of learning." (Dewey, 2009, p. 9) Dewey then explains that that education is more than the child or the curriculum, we cannot chose one focus over the other. It is not the child versus the the curriculum it is the child and the curriculum. To be an educator one must take the subject-matter and intertwine it with the interests and abilities of the student; " the child and the curriculum, become two limits that define a single process of continual learning." (pg 11)
In this essay, Dewey also discusses his views on how a child learns and what that too means to an educator. Dewey speaks of "Three Evils of External Presentation": lack of organic connection, lack of motivation and loss of thought provoking character. (p. 25) "Somehow somewhere motive must be appealed to, connection must be established between the mind and it's materials. If the subject-matter of the lesson be such as to have an appropriate place within the expanding consciousness of the child, if it grows out of his own past doings, thinkings, and sufferings and grows into application in further achievements and receptivities, than no devise or trick of methods has to be resorted to in order to enlist "interest"."(pg 27) In other words, our students are not empty vessels to be filled with facts and figures that they can memorize and regurgitate. Children need to see the connection to their own lives and they need to be motivated and challenged to make new connections and new meanings. To be successful, to become a successful member of the democratic society says Dewey, the child must learn to reason, question, and generalize and form opinions.
What Dewey does not directly mention in this essay is his belief that children are social learners. He does however stress that learning is active, not passive. "The logically formulated material of a study is no substitute for the having of individual experiences." These are but guides to future experiences, a source of direction, a pointing out of paths which lead most quickly to a desired result." (pg 20) In subsequent works, Dewey proposed the use of problem based learning. In Problem-Based Learning, a specific problem is introduced by the teacher. Students work individually or in teams over a period of time to develop solutions to this problem. PBL is active learning that leads each child to make connections to and discoveries about the topic at hand. It guides the student through questioning and reasoning and analyzing. What Dewey outlined for the reader in 1902 is what we are being taught today as we strive to become culturally competent teachers: a focused approach to a common curriculum combined with child driven approach to making meaning of that curriculum for each and every student. It is the road less taken through our years of reform, it is as our class has described, "the focused mish-mash".
Dewey, J., & Dewey, J. (2009). The school and society ; & The child and the curriculum. Lexington, Ky.: Readaclassic.com.
b. The School and Society was originally written in 1900 and The Child and the Curriculum in 1902. In both texts Dewey speaks to learning and education as a social process. He stresses that children need to interact with the curriculum. He also explains that a student should be able to link new information with their own experiences in order to make their own meanings. In The Child and the Curriculum, he states that "just as two points define a straight line, so the present standpoint of the child and the facts and truths of studies define instruction." (pg. 8) This sounds like the problem based learning we are expected to use in our classrooms today because PBL incorporates Dewey's emphasis on hands-on learning and student-centered instruction.
c. John Dewey lived from 1859 to 1952. He was a strong supporter of democracy and insisted that a good education was important to the success of democracy. Dewey also believed in a pragmatic philosophy meaning human thought is meant to be used for making predictions, performing actions or solving problems, not for memorizing facts and describing that which is already known by others. These believes led Dewey to start the Chicago Laboratory schools where he could put his beliefs into action. Dewey is probably most well known for his theory on progressive education. Dewey stressed that since children are social beings, education and the gaining of knowledge needs to be a social process. He also believed that schools should be a community and should be representative of the community they serve and that teachers as members of this community are there to assist the students in the process of learning. Dewey explained that he supported the core curriculum but went on to say that life skills also needed to be included. Last but most important was Dewey's claim the teachers need to focus on the child's strengths and interests as they encourage each student to make their own meanings and connections. Dewey firmly believed that a passive student is a wasted education.
d. At present time, my goal is to finish The Child and the Curriculum. As we were all warned, beware the skinny book. This book has little fluff and an immense amount of information to absorb. Once I complete this section I will perhaps work to include chapters from The School and Society. I appreciate the connection between what Dewey believed in the early 1900's and what we are trying to bring to our classrooms today. It appears that our newest research is not so new after all and I hope to use Dewey's knowledge base to strengthen my ability to incorporate PBL into my future classroom.
e. The knowledge and connections gained from Dewey's book will help the class see that the "newest" reform ideas are actually tried and true in the sense that these theories have persisted through two centuries of public education and that no matter how much our profession has tried to deny them they are once again back on the front page. Hopefully this insight will overpower the "learned helplessness", the "why bother, it's just another change and we all know these changes never make a difference". Discussing Dewey's theories on progressive education will also act as a refresher for myself and my peers on the basics of problem based learning.
Dewey, J., & Dewey, J. (2009). The school and society ; & The child and the curriculum. Lexington, Ky.: Readaclassic.com.
The Child and the Curriculum is an essay written by John Dewey in 1902 in response to concerns he had with current practices in education. Dewey opens this essay with the claim that there are two main educational sects: one that focuses on the curriculum and one that focus on the child. Those that focus on curriculum, according to Dewey, believe that the subject-matter reveals a wide universe to the narrow life of the child. The subject-matter brings truth and law and order to the egotistic, self -centered, and impulsive child. " It ignores the child's individual peculiarities, whims and experiences." (Dewey, 2009, p. 8) This sect believes that as educators, our role is to replace the casual and superficial ideas of the child with the "well-ordered realities of the curriculum". (Dewey, 2009, p. 8) Under this focus, the child is simply an immature being that needs to be matured and he succeeds at this by being "ductile and docile". (Dewey, 2009, p. 8 ) In contrast, the other sect that Dewey describes sees the child as the starting point, the center and the end goal of education, "his (the child) growth and development is the deal". (Dewey, 2009, p. 9) All subjects are subservient to the growth of the child and their value is measured in how well they serve the needs of growth. Dewey states that "subject matter can never be got into the child from without. Learning is active. It involves reaching out of the mind. It is the child and not the subject matter that defines the quantity and quality of learning." (Dewey, 2009, p. 9) Dewey then explains that that education is more than the child or the curriculum, we cannot chose one focus over the other. It is not the child versus the the curriculum it is the child and the curriculum. To be an educator one must take the subject-matter and intertwine it with the interests and abilities of the student; " the child and the curriculum, become two limits that define a single process of continual learning." (pg 11)
In this essay, Dewey also discusses his views on how a child learns and what that too means to an educator. Dewey speaks of "Three Evils of External Presentation": lack of organic connection, lack of motivation and loss of thought provoking character. (p. 25) "Somehow somewhere motive must be appealed to, connection must be established between the mind and it's materials. If the subject-matter of the lesson be such as to have an appropriate place within the expanding consciousness of the child, if it grows out of his own past doings, thinkings, and sufferings and grows into application in further achievements and receptivities, than no devise or trick of methods has to be resorted to in order to enlist "interest"."(pg 27) In other words, our students are not empty vessels to be filled with facts and figures that they can memorize and regurgitate. Children need to see the connection to their own lives and they need to be motivated and challenged to make new connections and new meanings. To be successful, to become a successful member of the democratic society says Dewey, the child must learn to reason, question, and generalize and form opinions.
What Dewey does not directly mention in this essay is his belief that children are social learners. He does however stress that learning is active, not passive. "The logically formulated material of a study is no substitute for the having of individual experiences." These are but guides to future experiences, a source of direction, a pointing out of paths which lead most quickly to a desired result." (pg 20) In subsequent works, Dewey proposed the use of problem based learning. In Problem-Based Learning, a specific problem is introduced by the teacher. Students work individually or in teams over a period of time to develop solutions to this problem. PBL is active learning that leads each child to make connections to and discoveries about the topic at hand. It guides the student through questioning and reasoning and analyzing. What Dewey outlined for the reader in 1902 is what we are being taught today as we strive to become culturally competent teachers: a focused approach to a common curriculum combined with child driven approach to making meaning of that curriculum for each and every student. It is the road less taken through our years of reform, it is as our class has described, "the focused mish-mash".
Other Resources:
Why Problem-Based Learning Is Better. (n.d.). Powerful Learning Practice. Retrieved July 16, 2013, from http://plpnetwork.com/2013/01/10/problem-vs-project-based-learning/
Snow, M. (2011, March 5). John Dewey - The Child and The Curriculum. IAE-Pedia. Retrieved from http://iae-pedia.org/John_Dewey_-_The_Child_and_The_Curriculum
Samuel, F., & Suh, B. (2012). Teacher Candidates Reconcile The Child and the Curriculum With No Child Left Behind. Educational Forum, 76(3), 372-382.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=w5Ry8yHw54w